| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Jury recommends death for gang member who killed Long Beach cop
Monday April 14, 2003LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) A Superior Court jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for a gang member who used an assault rifle to fire 28 rounds into an unmarked police car, killing a Long Beach officer.
The six-woman, six-man panel deliberated for two hours before issuing its recommendation Monday in the case of 21-year-old Compton gang member Ramon Sandoval Jr.
``He's a predator,'' said Robert Luna, chief of staff for Police Chief Anthony Batts. ``The citizens of this community are a lot safer. He'll never have the opportunity to be out on the street again.''
Another jury convicted Sandoval of first degree murder on Oct. 21, also finding true special circumstance allegations of murder of a police officer performing his duties, murder to avoid arrest, lying in wait and street gang murder. The first jury, however, deadlocked 7-5 in favor of execution, so a second jury was sworn in to consider only the penalty.
Defense attorneys were expected to request that Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani reduce the punishment to life in prison without possibility of parole when she sentences Sandoval on May 9.
Officer Daryle Black, 33, was the first Long Beach police officer shot to death in the line of duty in nearly a quarter century. His partner, Officer Rick Delfin, was wounded in the head and leg.
Authorities said Sandoval was searching for a rival gang member on April 29, 2000, when he came upon a vehicle he recognized as an undercover police car and opened fire.
He also was convicted of attempted murder and assault for Delfin's shooting and assault with a deadly weapon in the wounding of a pregnant woman struck by bullets that penetrated the walls of her home.
City Councilwoman Laura Richardson said outside court that a park about a block from the site of the shooting will be named in Black's honor.
``We're praying that this is kind of a close to everything that's happened,'' said the officer's brother Howard Black. ``It's still barely sinking in.''
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